Except for him, his agent, the Carolina Hurricanes and maybe a couple other NHL executives, there aren’t too many other people that believe Tomas Kaberle is worth the $4.25 million-per-year deal he signed with the ‘Canes today.

Such is the zany free-agent market in 2011.

But not only does Carolina think Kaberle’s worth that type of cash, the ‘Canes also think he’s an upgrade on Joe Corvo. The Bruins, however, would beg to differ.

After realizing they were going to lose Kaberle, the Bruins traded a fourth-round pick in 2012 to Carolina for Corvo. The veteran defenseman makes a little more than half of what Kaberle stands to take home now, and brings with him a booming right-handed shot that he’s not afraid to use.

The Bruins have to like that of Corvo’s 11 goals last season, five came on the power play for a Carolina team that ranked 24th on the man-advantage. He led all Carolina defensemen with 191 shots on goal, which was fourth overall on the club. He was also second on the ‘Canes in overall average ice time and shorthanded ice time.

If there are knocks on Corvo, one is that he can play soft. While it’s not always a tell-tale sign about a guy’s toughness, that he doesn’t have a single career fighting major shows that he’s not exactly sticking his nose into difficult situations. At 34, it’s not likely that he’s suddenly going to turn tough.

And his last foray into a stretch run and playoffs with a contending team was a disaster, as he put up 2-4-6 totals and a minus-4 rating in 18 games for the 2009-10 Washington Capitals and then added just 1-1-2 totals and minus-2 in a seven-game first-round series. Previously, Corvo’s postseason numbers with Ottawa and Carolina were decent — 4-12-16 and minus-3 in 38 games, including the Senators’ run to the ’07 Stanley Cup Final.

With Corvo making Andrew Ference-type money and signed for just one more year, this move has only slightly more risk attached than the Benoit Pouliot signing the Bruins executed last week. The best-case scenario would be for Corvo to put his shot and skating to good use, add a little edge, and become a second-pair fixture and power-play punch provider. He could settle in on a third pair if he doesn’t make the most of his tools.

At worst, he’s battling for playing time with the likes of Adam McQuaid and Johnny Boychuk, especially if Steven Kampfer or Matt Bartkowski show up and win a top-six job this fall.

While Corvo could turn out to be a great add to the team, right now the Bruins aren’t better — on paper — than the team that won the Cup a few weeks ago. They’re not worse either.

Until we see how Corvo handles the adjustment to Boston’s system and takes care of his own end, we can only call the swap of him for Kaberle a wash right now. But the Bruins still have the cap room to upgrade over the rest of the summer or during the season. And they definitely like their kids.

Bo,
a decent amount of why he wasn’t picked up by Detroit+Co. has to do with what he was looking for: a place where he could play in a nice environment: one he was happy in. He also was looking for the right term and a dollar amount that is respectable for his reputation (not necessarily what he earned.) We were still talking with him because he likes it here. The problem was, we were offering a one year deal (probably at what he makes now, maybe a little less.) He wanted security, and Carolina offered some measure of that in addition to reputational compensation.

Agree that we tend to overrate some of our prospects such as Kampfer. From what I’ve seen, I think he will be worse than Boychuck, similar to Hunwick. That’s O.K. but he will get his chances, that’s for sure.

CNL – for real on Kabs? Its not all about points. Didn’t see much of anything that interested me in his game. Not for the bounty we paid in trade, not for what he takes in salary.

Add him to the Bs right now. He sits. I really don’t think he’d get minutes ahead of Corvo. He just offered this team very little in my opinion. Maybe it was just a bad match.. but then again – Detroit – a team many thought was a very good match, and a team with a very credible history for choosing a lineup…. they chose Erickson, White and Commodore all over Kaberle.

Don’t like the guys game, and the fact that he was the last guy standing says much of what others thought too.

Boston would have offered him $4million and Kaberle wasn’t going to take the pay-cut. Offering Kaberle $3mil would have been insulting. Especially considering what Wiz and Markov got paid. I’d take Kaberle over either of them.

In all honesty, the hype pretty much ruined Kabs stay here. Everyone expected one guy to make this crazy difference. I’d hoped for somewhere around 15 pts from him in the playoffs. He got 11, playing less minutes than I thought and managed a +8. Overrated?! The guy’s avg. 55 pts/season since the lockout. Let’s be serious. Corvo’s seen 40 pts once in his career. While Kaberle is certainly the better player, for half the price I’m very happy with the “swap”. Another stellar move by PC.

As far as Kampfer and Bartkowski go, I think we attach some home-town bias to them. I’m not sure I see a future NHL defenseman in either of them. I’d be excited to be proven wrong though! Regardless, they’re perfectly suited to be 7/8 guys this season and keep everyone else honest, knowing that someone is chomping at the bit for some playing time.

And teams haven’t been ‘overpaying’ during this offseason?! I’ve been beating the drum to dangle Looch / Krecji and a prospect to improve the O, but I’m totally against giving up 4 first rounders to sign an RFA. (Please no more Stamkos baloney). Plus, is it better to see what you have and what you need for 3/4 of a season and then try to add pieces, or add them now and have your hands tied later?

Seems to me that Chia believes that a couple of Caron, Seguin, Knight, Spooner, Sauve and Khoklachev are going to hit it big (not to mention our new favorite Dougie!), and PC is playing it cool (see no extended contracts) with a solid club before pulling the trigger.

I would love a 40 goal scorer. Problem is, there were 5 total 40 goal scorers in the NHL last season. 5. That is it. Call it 6 of Crosby was healthy. 40 goal scorers don’t grow on trees.

I agree that they need to get better. I wold love to see a real defensive defenseman added, and I would love to see another winger. Fact is, I expect an increase in goals from Seguin and Krecji, and now they have Peverley for the entire season. I think he has a big year. I am not worried about losing Recchi and Ryder and their combined 32 goals. I think people step up and fill that void, whether it is Caron, Seguin or Peverley.

Bojangles. you have to overpay to get players at the deadline or get lucky in a salary dump situation. Unlike most of you, I am still not sold on this offense without a sniper that can drop 40 a year and I think we need one more star defenseman. With the money and players coming up the pipeline, it might not be a bad idea to take a chance at a superstar rather than a bunch of 2nd and 3rd liner. With the B’s lined up as a solid playoff team for the next couple of years, I would love to see them use the picks for some RFAs.

I think the B’s are sticking with the current D-lineup, but McCabe wouldn’t be a bad option for the powerplay.

I have decided it is tough to do well as a PMD under the Boston (Julien) system. Probably because part of being a PMD or offensive defenseman often involves taking risks that expose the defensive zone.

Either way I am satisfied with this trade. It wasn’t costly, it comes off the books if he totally bombs, and it provides some depth and an opportunity for realistic competition for ice time-something I think players often need to bring out the best in them.

Oh and while the Bruins were rather lucky injury wise last season, they still had moments where having some experienced depth on defense would have been a bonus (I really don’t want a situation where Hnidy or similar is our 7th D).

I think Corvo is a better defensive player than he is getting credit for here. I don’t really understand the argument that he is an offensive downgrade from Kaberle. I guess the plain sight of 50 points from Kaberle vs. 40 points from Corvo will do that, but consider that Corvo scores goals, while Kaberle doesn’t. I think the fact that they give out assists to the last two players to touch the puck has really made Kablerle. At least that is what it looked like when he was here. He did make some really great passes, but other than flashes, I never saw what was so amazing about Kaberle in the offensive end. I never realized how slow he was until he got here.

Let’s look at our recent history of offensive d-men. I became pretty big when Mara was here, and he was just so-so not really fitting in the system, so he went bye-bye. Then there was wideman, who brought some nice offense, although we put up with his “adventures” until they outnumbered his points. Then we tried Morris. Flop! no other way to describe that, especially after he was good in phx. Then we get Kaberle, who while good in Tor was at best so-so when he came here and was not worth the price tag. Now we get a guy who is about as good defensively as Wideman (ick) and probably will score more points than Kaberle here because he can shoot. Our recent history suggests he will be a pp specialist and a 3rd pair staple because Julien doesn’t like shoddy defense on his back end. I doubt he will be great on a contender, but I do think he will fill a need. The best comparable I see to him is Marc-Andre Bergeron. He’s an absolute terror in his d-zone, but when on offense, there aren’t too many players you’d rather have. Corvo isn’t quite that bad on D, but more comparable in such a way than Kaberle was. For the record, Kaberle was a slightly above average defensive defender in a manner similar to Lidstrom (good angles, not much checking.) Corvo won’t be a fighter, McQuaid is young and willing to do what he needs to, but Corvo has an established style and is less likely to incorporate an entirely new aspect into his game because he came to boston.

Overall, I like it. Corvo fills a need and gives our prospects a year and leeway to grow into the roles we want them to take.

It would have to be a trade, Tampa would rather get NHL players and picks than just draft picks. My guess is they are fighting over the length of the deal because Stamkos agent would like him to get to UFA rather than have another RFA situation. Can we talk about Stamkos unrelated to the Bruins? I’m amazed he has not signed yet.

And how! I’ve read a lot of things over the past few days questioning how some of the signings this year will negatively effect life after this upcoming season/end of the current CBA. While I can’t agree or disagree with anything that’s been said, because no one knows how things are going to play out, I can’t imagine that some of the ridiculous signings are really going to help the matter much.

Regarding this and the other signing by the Bruins in the past week, I like them. Benoit is a project, but has an offensive upside and we know that this team, coaching staff, and system can bring out the best in players sometimes. Corvo I like too, considering what’s coming up from Provd. He’s either a good stop gap measure or a good second choice this season. Either way, for that $ and that term you can’t complain when taking his past production into account. Players also seem to always bring up their intensity level while in the Black and Gold. Look at Nathan Horton, who’s probably the best example, but also Darth Quaider who, as noted in a post on this blog I believe, who only had 5 fighting majors his entire time in Jr’s. I bet Corvo shows a bit more of an edge next season.

I bet Corvo isn’t paired with Chara. I sort of see Boychuk going back to Chara during the regular season and Corvo with Seids or Ference. Unless of course they trade Boychuk-which I still think is a possibility at some point in the future.

If Corvo doesn’t put up some PP production the fans are going to be on his case just like we were with Wideman and Kaberle. Just from reading up on him he can be soft defensively and makes a lot of high risk passes.

I heard Tampa is realizing pre-tax losses of $30mil this year, even despite their success. Stamkos is almost certainly not going to be a Bruin because of the financial handicap it could put on the organization, but I wouldn’t rule out other offers just yet. The reason Tampa hasn’t signed Stammer yet is because there is obviously a disagreement in terms of the financial obligations the organization is willing to undertake.

Rich, your hyperbole isn’t needed man. I bet almost nobody in the world can predict the future and what the new CBA will bring. Knowing Chia and the way he builds upon depth while playing a careful numbers game, it’s obvious he won’t make a move for Stamkos. Sports radio has been salivating for a week about what could happen in a dream scenario where the B’s land Stammer… so I just had some fun speculating on here. Didn’t mean to get you all worked up.

Andrew, there does seem to be some sort of unspoken code when it comes to RFA’s in this league. So you’re most likely right about Tampa somehow getting Stamkos signed despite their hardships.

Love this team. Can’t wait to be back in the Garden for 41+ games next year.

I don’t think management is going for Stamkos. His defense falls short of what Julien expects and given the free agent contracts this past year, I think PC will want to keep some room for some of the present team members. I’m a little disappointed if trading for Corvo, holds back giving Kampfer or Bartkowski a real good shot at earning a top 6 defensive position. From what I remember, I don’t think Corvo likes the physical part enough to be Bruin defenseman.

For the record, anyone who legitimately thinks that Steven Stamkos is going anywhere other than back to Tampa Bay has lost their mind. If TB lets this guy walk then they mine as well pack up and move north of the border.

Not to mention that as an RFA, the compensation for Stamkos at those figures would be something like 4 first round picks. We just won a cup, now we need to have patience with the youngsters. This team has the potential to win a few cups.

“(assuming the cap doesn’t drop)”, when everyone on the entire freakin’ planet knows it will. This isn’t assembling a fantasy hockey. They’re not making a move for Stamkos because they cannot remotely afford him, without decimating their core. Period.

huge discrepancy in +/-. as bad as Kaberle looked, he held fairly firm, defensively. Corvo sure is worth the rate, but I hope he doesn’t make the team. I’d much rather see CHA/KAM, FER/MCQ, SEI/BOY or another acquisition for the back end. I suspect that Corvo and Seidenberg together would be almost as bad as Kaberle and Seidenberg were when paired together. that is not good. Corvo with Chara would work (who wouldn’t work next to that reach?), but I really don’t feel great about pairing him with anybody else. maybe McQuaid, but that’d be two rights, so maybe Ference. Corvo looks like a good PP acquisition, but I’m not convinced he’ll fit even as well as Wideman or Kaberle did, so I think they should get another defender. oh, and one more forward, while we’re at the store.

I have to say… I’ve always been a fan of Corvo’s offensive sense. Very hard, accurate shot and picks his spots well. He’s 20x more physical than Kaberle, though that doesn’t say much. It’s definitely an upgrade; even in his 30s, Corvo is still very mobile. He’ll be reunited with Seids, I’m sure- they’ll make a good pairing.

In terms of Chia’s other move, I’m actually excited for Pouliot to come in. He obviously had a monster slump during the second half of last season, but watching videos of him in the breakout and in the offensive zone, he has quick hands and a good sense of space. He can finish, too- sick wrister and an accurate backhand. In his most recent interview, he said he was essentially going to hit the gym hard and show up to camp with something to prove. I like that attitude. He has a high ceiling- I think he, Kelly and Seguin could turn out to be a very decent line.

That all being said… I’d still rather see Chia grow a pair and send an offer out for Stamkos, just for fun. Throw him $8mil for 8 years, buy out Savard, and trade Kelly so that Marchy can get a raise. The following season (assuming the cap doesn’t drop), you part with Boychuck or Corvo inject Hamilton, and give Peverley and Krejci the raises they deserve. Tampa can’t do anything, and Stamkos is just sitting there ripe for the picking.

A wash which saves money – Exactly!
I like this. We’re bringing back a solid 6-pack of veteran D with different skill sets. With Kampfer and Bartkowski knocking on the door to provide depth and keep any slackers on their toes.
Pair him with Seids and his lack of physicality won’t be a big problem.
Z – Boychuk
Seids – Corvo
AF – Darth Quaider